Blacklovemail
by Tamabonotchi
Summary: AU. Rukia admired him- but she was too late. Ichigo never knew until then. Out of spontaneous fit of anguish, he tries to prove to Rukia of his feelings with extortion.
1. Prologue The Pendulum Swings

**Hello there! I've decided to write this, a multi-chapter story! I'm not quite sure how long it will be, so I just hope you enjoy and continue reading! Bleach is by Kubo Tite.  
Summary: Rukia admired him- but she was too late. Ichigo never knew until then. Out of spontaneous fit of anguish, he tries to prove to Rukia of his feelings with extortion.  
Enjoy!

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_**Prologue- The Pendulum Swings  
**_

Rukia always had admired her teacher, Shiba Kaien.

She admired him for his strong yet relaxed strength; and for always helping her.

She remembered the month she was transferred to the new school, after going through harsh times with her brother and childhood friend, Renji. She felt out place of everyone, isolated from the laughing and warmness around her.

* * *

_"Welcome to Seireitei Gakuen, Kuchiki Rukia. We hope you will perform well as we've seen from the Kuchiki family before. Ise Nanao, the secretary, will give you your schedule for this trimester. You may ask her any questions you have." Rukia nodded and bowed respectfully to the principal Yamamoto. _

_He grunted, signaling permission to Nanao to enter. She opened the door and bowed to Yamamoto, and faced towards Rukia._

_"This way, Kuchiki-san." She said as she turned on her heel. Rukia hastily followed her to her desk in the front of the office and stood waiting as Nanao went through several piles of paperwork. _

_"Kuchiki Rukia… Here it is." She took out a thin piece of paper from the middle of a stack and handed it to Rukia. "Here is your schedule for this trimester. Homeroom is about to start, so you should get there for your teacher to introduce you. Your teacher is Ukitake Juushirou in class A-2." Rukia took the slip and bowed to Nanao, who showed her the way out. _

_Rukia wondered the hallways, even though she knew her way around. After a few minutes, she arrived to the door of her class as she waited outside in the hallway. She could hear noise of other students idly chatting- it was apparent class hadn't started yet, so she would meet the teacher._

_The school bell rang, and the noise inside became considerably quieter. Rukia looked down both ends of the hallway, wondering where the teacher was. _

_She leaned onto the wall and sighed when echoed steps made her jump off the wall. She looked and saw him rushing down the hall. His eyes spotted her._

_"YOU! Shouldn't you already be in class? Get in there!" He yelled. It was almost in a comedic manner, if only it wasn't her he was yelling at._

_"Anou- Excuse me but, I'm a new student." Rukia stuttered out still startled from his outburst._

_"EH? New student? No one told me about you! Well anyway, welcome to Sereitei Gakuen! I'm Shiba Kaien, you're teacher." His smile made her stare at him for a moment in awe, but she quickly snapped out of it._

_"W-wait, I was told my teacher would be Ukitake-sensei…" She mumbled, looking down at her schedule._

_"He is your official teacher, but since he is rather sickly, I come and teach his class. Most of the kids will say I'm their actual teacher, but I won't get mad if you make the mistake!" Rukia noted his behavior, and bowed._

_"Kuchiki Rukia." She said in a polite voice. She was about to lift her head up when she felt a large hand pat her head roughly. She almost lost balance as she looked up at him, annoyed._

_"What? No greeting? You don't go meeting your teachers and higher-ups and not greet them as such! Greet me properly." He scolded her. Rukia could only stare at him until she snapped back and hastily bowed her head once more._

_"I-It's a great pleasure to me you, sensei!" She corrected herself. He nodded and smile. _

_"Good, good! Now wait right here while I go inside and start class. I'll introduce you to the class in a few minutes." He told her. She gave a small nod as he turned to the door and opened it._

_"All right, quiet down and get to your desks! Appreciate the extra minutes you get after the bell rings and get ready for class!" He hollered. Rukia was surprised by his loud voice that had authority. _

_After he took care of the important things in class, he finally cleared his throat._

_"Today, we have a new student, so greet them with kindness and welcome them to Sereitei Gakuen!" Rukia took this as her cue to come out. She slowly opened the door and walked to the center of the class. She felt all eyes on her, making her somewhat nervous. Of course, they haven't heard her name yet. She turned towards the class and bowed her head._

_"Hello, my name is Kuchiki Rukia. Please be nice to me and I hope to meet all of you." She couldn't see the faces when she said her name, but judging by the gasps and whispers all over, she knew what their expressions were._

_"Alright, you may sit at your desk, Kuchiki. Go sit over to Kotetsu Kiyone." He said, pointing to a girl in the middle of the room. Said girl started waving in an urgent manner, alerting Rukia of the exact person and pointing to the empty desk beside of her. Rukia slowly walked down the aisle as she saw the side glances at her follow. She sat down into the vacant seat and looked forward to the front on the class. _

_"Alright, now take out your homework from the previous night!" Kaien called out as the shuffling of papers and quiet groans echoed in the room._

_That was how it was. Stares and glares, whispering and gasps towards her from everyone in the school. She was all alone, with no one correcting any mistakes she made. The teachers would ignore any mistake she made, making her seem perfect; giving another reason for everyone to avoid her. _

_She was a Kuchiki- she was perfect, poised, and would not take anyone lower than her as a friend. _

_But Shiba Kaien was not like that. He corrected Rukia's mistakes that she made n assignments, and showed her what she did wrong. Even her classmates began to talk to her, about the test and homework, and even about what they did on their free time._

_She was normal.

* * *

_

After a year, she had Shiba Kaien again, and a new boy came to school.

Kurosaki Ichigo.

He attracted more attention than Rukia with his orange hair that spiked all over. His quietness and constant scowl pasted onto his face. What's more was many of the troublesome boys in the school would start fights with him. Rukia remembered when she was walking back home after staying late in school when she first met him.

* * *

_'You shouldn't have come here, Kurosaki! I advise you to get the hell out of this school if you know what's good for you. We don't need weaklings like you!" Ichigo dodged his punch and swung a kick against the guy's stomach. _

_"You all are really annoying, did you know that?" Ichigo commented as he scowled at the figure kneeling on the ground, clutching his side. He turned to make his leave, ignoring the glare from the student._

_"Damn you-" He took out a hammer and threw it at Ichigo. It hit the top of his shoulder, nearly missing his neck or back of his head. Ichigo spun around as he grasped the spot on his shoulder it had hit. "Hah! That's what you get! You're fucking annoying, I'm just going to finish you off- everyone will be glad I got rid of a filthy rat like you!" He yelled as he took out a small knife from inside of his jacket._

_Rukia could only watch, horrified as Ichigo only stood there as the guy started running towards him. She couldn't stand watch it happen, as the next thing she knew, she had blood trickling down her arm, and her leg coming up and making contact with the student's chin. With the force, he fell to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete._

_"D-dammit, who the hell did that?!" He opened one eye and sat the sight of her, and his eyes widened._

_"K-Kuchiki! What are you doing here? We weren't doing anything, honest!" He said as he tried to stand up, looking innocent. He turned somewhat pale when he saw her hand holding the knife with her blood dripping from it. "W-what are you doing with that?" _

_"Stopping you from hurting him. Take your filthy weapons and __**I **__advise you to leave this school, or I will tell them." She said disgustingly at him._

_"Who are you?" Ichigo's voice called out behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at his shocked face, still letting it sink in he was saved… by a short girl._

_"I don't get you- why is a noble like you helping a rat like him? You've got to be joking, right?" He picked up his hammer as he looked threatening at both. Rukia remained silent for a moment, thinking why she was there in the first place._

_"It's disgusting how everyone here won't let new students come, that's making Sereitei Gakuen a terrible school." She said out loud. Ichigo could only stay at her back, watching as she idly wrapped her scarf around her bleeding arm. _

_"It's survival of the brightest, Kuchiki! Weaklings like him should be taken out; he doesn't deserve to be here!" He yelled, pointing at Ichigo. _

_"-Don't you mean 'survival of the fittest?'" Rukia corrected him._

_"Idiot." Ichigo muttered. His face turned red in both embarrassment and anger._

_"You bitch! I'm going to expose the weak whore you are to the school, and we'll get you out of this school, Kuchiki or not!" In his fit of anger, he ran at Rukia, flailing the hammer. Rukia, alert of his rash movements, tied to dodge as best she could. She moved to the side when he brought it down, but couldn't dodge when he hit her in her hip, grabbing her right ankle. All she could do was fall to the hard ground, writhing for the pain. Her scarf that was wrapped around her arm slid of as she kicked her foot, but he wouldn't let go. _

_"Let go of her ankle, bastard!" Ichigo ran toward him as he stomped onto his hand. The bastard yelled in pain as he tried to keep his grasp on Rukia's ankle, but she quickly escaped his grasp. _

_"Bitch… I will tell the school. By tomorrow you won't have any friends you were able to bribe!" He quickly stood up and ran away. _

_"Wait a minute-!" Ichigo went to chase him when he looked over to the girl. "Hey you… Why did you come here?" He saw she was panting as she looked far away, thinking of something. She knew if she didn't act fast, both of them would be in trouble tomorrow. _

_He noticed her stained scarf. He picked it up from the dirt and looked up to say something to the girl. "Here's your… scarf?" When he looked up, she had also disappeared. "Where the hell did she go?" He was slightly annoyed what happened. He was saved by a girl a foot shorter than himself, and all he had to prove of her existence was the bloodied scarf he held in his hand. This school really was something. _

_--_

_No one had glared at Ichigo the next day. In fact, they were all giving him looks of approval, and actually greeting him. He kept the scarf inside his bag pack, always looking around the hallways for the girl- it couldn't be that hard to identify a short black-haired girl that looked like from primary school. He knew she from this school based on her school uniform and that bastard (who mysteriously disappeared also) knew her._

_But Ichigo couldn't remember her name… Kuchdo… Kuchimi… No, none of those were her name. Ichigo heard the bell play throughout the school, signaling the end of the school day. He shuffled out of Yoruichi-sensei's class room a few minutes after everyone else and walked down to get his shoes to leave. He was about to step down the stairs when one of the class doors slid open, catching Ichigo's attention. One of the teachers walked out and right after him was a student. _

_"I'll take of the classroom, Kaien-dono!" She promised, bowing slightly. The teacher smiled down at her. _

_"Good job, Kuchiki! Have a good night, and don't forget to do homework!" After a confirmation from her, he turned and walked down to the opposite end of the hallway. Speechless watching the short scene, Ichigo finally found his voice as he ran over to the familiar figure._

_"Y-you!" He called. She turned, as her eyes widened at the orange airing bobbing towards her. _

_"Ah, you're the boy from yesterday." She muttered._

_"Yeah- I just wanted to give you this." Ichigo searched his bag as he took out her scarf. He held it out to the girl as she looked at it for a moment and watched as her face brightened in realization._

_"Ah- I must have dropped it. Thank you very much." She took it from his hand, her finger tips brushing slightly against his._

_"Want to explain to me why you suddenly appeared yesterday? I don't need to be protected at all." Ichigo asked, slightly irritated._

_"You had no idea what you were getting into yesterday- you should be thanking me for stopping that moron from ruining the rest of your life." Rukia said in a scolding voice. She went back inside her classroom and went to clean the class room._

_"What was that?!" Ichigo was surprised by her sudden condescending tone. He followed her into the class that must have been her classroom. He noted she was in the same year as him, but her class was several rooms down from his. _

_"If he didn't get his way, he would have spread an ugly rumor or worse have you expelled from this school. You probably didn't notice, but I was fast enough to attack him first and now his stupidity is no longer present in the school." She explained as she took out the flowers from the vase that was beginning to wilt. She would need to buy new flowers tomorrow. _

_"So what do you want me to do? Thank you instead?" He asked. _

_"It's not needed- Giving me my scarf is fine. Do whatever you want now." She said in the same serious tone. Ichigo remained quiet watching her clean the board._

_"Fine then. I guess I might see you around…" He muttered, walking back to the door._

_"It's not 'you', it's Kuchiki Rukia." Ichigo turned to see her facing him, her arms crossed over her chest. He noticed her small smirk, and couldn't help but smirk himself at her smugness._

_"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

* * *

_

Rukia could still remember that day. After that they became friends and became even closer, even in separate classes. He had also introduced her to his other friends- Inoue, Chad, Ishida, and others. She never had so many friends, been in a special group where everyone called each other their nakama…

She enjoyed it, even if her brother didn't like her socializing with the lower students- especially Ichigo.

But she was still in Kaien's class. She still took her time after school to clean the classroom, and bring him fresh flowers.

She had always admired Shiba Kaien. Ichigo noticed her admiration towards her teacher, but never thought of it as anything more; as did everyone else.

Rukia stared at the neat letter, labeled with his name as neatly as she could. She chose the most pristine white envelope and the same stationary inside the closed envelope. She held the small letter in her hands as her open heart.

"Kaien-dono…"

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**This is only the prologue, so please be patient for the next chapter! Review is VERY much appreciated, since it motivates me to write quicker!  
Preview for next chapter:**_  
The second part of the prologue. Rukia finally knew what to do, she could dream of what would happen. As much love she brought to the table to make her dreams come true, it never works with one-sided feelings; those dreams scarred with harsh reality._


	2. The Pendulum Sways

**Hello everyone, long time no see! It might have felt like it took me a while, and it has. I am just lucky enough to not have so much school work right now with no big projects, but my club that is going everyday after school and competition soon, I don't have a lot of time and patience to type anything on a weekday. ****  
If you're going to tell me to type the next chapter, let me tell you that it will probably take me at least two weeks or more for each chapter.  
Remember, Bleach is by Kubo-sama!**

**Notes:  
**Nii-sama: Honorable big brother  
Gomennasai- I'm very sorry  
minna- everyone  
Hai- Yes

**Enjoy!**

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**Prologue- The Pendulum Sways**

Rukia had known about everything a long time ago, and it troubled her when she was alone brooding.

Shiba Kaien was married.

She knew of this from the start, but it never stopped her from growing to admire him, and more. She knew when it finally clicked in her mind one day that Miyako-dono was his wife, she wanted to be angry at her, she didn't know why. But she couldn't hate her at all. Miyako-dono was her idol, and would be. She had no right to hold an unexplainable grudge against her idol; it didn't make much sense either.

Rukia had hoped to look up toward Miyako-dono for a long time.

She couldn't help but blame herself.

* * *

_"Ukitake-sensei." Rukia was the only student in the class room, the school bell having rung a few minutes ago. Ukitake turned around surprised to see her still there._

_Ah, Kuchiki! Was there something you needed?" He gave her a warm smile like he always did when he came to school. _

_"Excuse me for my nosiness but… Where has Kaien-dono been?" Rukia asked. Ukitake looked at her more surprised at her direct question._

_"Well, I've been feeling much better lately, so I've been teaching my class..." He explained._

_"I noticed you haven't been well these couple of days though… Where is Kaien-dono?" Rukia could see through his lie, becoming more desperate for the answer._

_"Ah… If you're that concerned, Miyako hasn't been very well, so I've given Kaien a small break so he'd be near his wife… But he will be back soon. Don't worry, Kuchiki." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, assuring her everything was alright. _

_But it didn't feel right._

_-_

_It had been a few days after that afternoon, and Rukia noticed Kaien-dono was still gone, and she could tell Ukitake needed a break from Kiyone and Sentarou. Rukia continued to become aggravated, and had to look for him. Soon after school, she found out Miyako-dono was in the hospital. The next minute she was out of the Kuchiki mansion, and was walking to a flower shop. _

_She arrived an hour later to the hospital Miyako-dono was said to be in. Her fists tightened around the bouquet as she walked inside. She walked into a white room and looked towards the hospital bed, as she froze._

_Kaien-dono looked like a wreck, as he sat by Miyako-dono's bedside. The woman the flowers were for laid in her bed, the monitor saying she was alive, yet her face looked so pale and solemn; Rukia almost believed she was too late._

_"K-Kaien-dono." She mumbled, almost afraid she was intruding on something. Said man looked up almost alert, but his eyes softened seeing her petite figure. _

_"Kuchiki! What are you doing here?" He asked, pleasantly surprised. _

_"Go-gomennasai for coming." Rukia's eyes stared at the floor._

_"Don't be yourself up, Kuchiki! Besides, you didn't even answer my question." He gestured towards her. He seemed fine even though Rukia knew Miyako was right there on the bed._

_"I just wanted to give Miyako-dono these flowers." Rukia held out the bouquet towards him, her face becoming slightly pink. _

_"Aaah, Miyako will love these. I'll be sure she knows you brought them Kuchiki." Kaien's voiced softened, making Rukia crack a smile. _

_"Have a nice day, Kaien-dono!" She bowed and turned around and walked out of the hospital. Outside, the sky was covered with grey clouds, threatening to spill the moisture that was held _

_Miyako-dono soon left the world. _

* * *

Rukia could feel like all the blood drained from her face even thinking of the event, and how _he_ was like right after. She couldn't help but feel a pang inside seeing Kaien-dono so depressed when he came back to Sereitei Gakuen. Ichigo and the rest of her friends didn't inquire about the hours she spent after school every day with him.

She finally decided what she was going to do, and once more looked at the pristine envelope.

Soon, the class trip came up.

* * *

_"Oi, Rukia! Over here you midget!" Rukia turned to see Ichigo waving and gesturing to come over to where his class stood, waiting to load onto the rented bus. Rukia glanced up to the front where both Ukitake-sensei and Kaien-dono were working on final arrangements before everyone could get on the bus and they could finally get to the camp. _

_She sneaked away from her class as she ran over to where Ichigo stood waiting. _

_"What did you want?" She asked, slightly annoyed. _

_"Just wanted a heads up if you were going to stay with your teachers during the whole school trip when we're in the same group" He said, trying to talk casual. Rukia stared at his observation dumbfounded, before she glared at him. She hit him in the stomach as he doubled over._

_"You made me come over here to boost your ego? If you're finished, I need to get back to my class before Kaien-dono notices and I get punished." She turned toward where Kaien-dono was already doing attendance, and hurried over before he could call out her name._

_"Damn it… I wasn't done talking to her." Ichigo muttered. _

_"Was there something important you needed to tell Kuchiki-san, or what she said was actually what you were doing, Kurosaki?" Ichigo grimaced as he turned to the owner of the snide voice. _

_"Shut up, Ishida- It's not of your business anyway." Ichigo said, irritated. Now Ishida was getting to him._

_"Eh, is it true Kuchiki-san will be able to be with us? I'm so happy! She's been busy for so long so I haven't been able to get her opinion on my new recipes, right Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue cheered. She turned to look at Ichigo._

_"Eh? Yeah…" Ichigo didn't know what else to say to her, but all conversation was stopped when the teachers began shouting about being quiet. Ichigo soon was on the first bus- Rukia on the bus right behind. _

_"Alright, you'll be on this bus for two hours, so don't make too much trouble!" Ichigo had some clue Yoruichi-sensei was indirectly telling Ichigo not to stir up another riot._

_"Hai, sensei." Everyone said, but high-school students had become less enthusiastic since junior high._

_Back on Rukia's bus, she had sat up front, and no one cared to sit with her- it didn't matter to her. _

_"All right, sit your asses down, and I better not see you goofing off! We won't reach the camp grounds until in two hours, and Ukitake-sensei deserves his sleep." Kaien-dono's voice boomed throughout the bus. _

_"Hai!" Everyone including Rukia was much more enthusiastic than the other classes. Ukitake-sensei smiled at Rukia as he remained standing in the aisle._

_"Are you excited, Kuchiki?" He asked her. Rukia blushed at Ukitake-sensei._

_"H-hai, Ukitake-sensei!" She stuttered out. _

_"I see… Does Byakuya know the field trip?" He asked. Rukia knew most of the teachers knew of Byakuya Nii-sama along with everyone else but on a mutual level. Rukia's face soon fell._

_"N-no, I thought he didn't need to know. Nii-sama isn't home very often, so he wouldn't notice. He would also guess it would be school-related." Rukia explained. The teachers always talked to her on a personal level when they asked about Nii-sama._

_"No worries, Kuchiki. Next time though you should leave a small note telling him." Ukitake-sensei told her, putting a gentle smile on his face. _

_"H-hai, Ukitake-sensei…" Rukia stuttered out. Just then Rukia's face almost touched the back of the seat in front of her as the bus was started up. Ukitake went and sat down in a comfortable seat for the long ride. Kaien had already sat down earlier, and was a few rows ahead of Rukia. _

_The buses started moving, and Rukia remained sitting while she watched the scenery of Karakura pass by for two hours._

_Rukia felt relieved they finally reached the camp ground and was able to step off the bus and touch land for the first time in two hours. _

_"Alright, minna! Help unload the bus and report to the nurse for your group assignments! Remember to come back from exploring for dinner tonight!" After Yoruichi explained their class assignments, everyone went to un-packing._

_"Aaah! Kuchiki-san, com with us!" Rukia turned to see Inoue waving as she stood with Arisawa Tatsuki. _

_"What is it, Inoue?" Rukia called as she started walking over to the pair. _

_"You have to come with us, let's have fun on this field trip! We only have tonight, and I can't wait to make us something tonight!" Inoue smiled at Rukia. She nodded as she followed the two away with their baggage._

_"What the hell are you doing, Rukia?" Ichigo stared as she climbed up a tree to a thick branch a couple of meters off the ground. _

_"I'm getting a better view to sketch, idiot, were you expecting me to sit with you or something?"_

_"Care to explain, Kurosaki?" Ishida asked he watched Ichigo's face turn slightly pink._

_"I have nothing to explain! Do you always have to make stupid assumptions, Ishida?" Ichigo growled. Ishida smirked at the reaction. _

_"Aaah- Ishida-kun, you had a keen eye to see such an amazing view for us to sketch!"Inoue complimented Ishida as she sat down and placed her pencils and watercolor set. _

_"I bet Shiba-sensei and Ukitake-sensei will be expecting your crappy skills once more from you, Rukia." Ichigo commented. The next moment Rukia's sketchbook went in contact with Ichigo's head. _

_"Shut up, strawberry face." Rukia threatened. "Now hand me my sketchbook." She held out her hand below the branch as she waited for the object to come into her hand. _

_"Get it yourself. You're the one who tossed it down here." Ichigo ignored her hand as he opened his own sketchbook. _

_"Damn you Ichigo…" Rukia jumped from the branch she was sitting and walked to where her sketchbook was tossed. She picked it up and stood back up straight, but something caught her eye as she glanced to the other side. Her heart fluttered seeing Kaien-dono and Ukitake-sensei, both leisurely walking before food was going to be made._

_The letter._

_It definitely wasn't a good time for to her to even confess- Not with her friends and Ukitake-sensei nearby. _

_Not now- later. _

_Rukia turned back as she climbed back up the tree and set bet on the branch again and stared out onto the scenery of the trees and setting sun, sketching the details._

_The sun was going over the horizon when the group left to go meet with the rest of their class to cook their dinner._

_"Hopefully there'll be some onions and gelatin I can use!" Inoue said out loud as they made it to the pans where many people were already starting to cook. _

_"That'd take too much time to prepare gelatin, Inoue." Rukia answered her. Realizing what she said was true, Inoue frowned. _

_"Awww and I really wanted gelatin today too!" Inoue gave a childish but it soon disappeared as she ran over to where she saw Tatsuki. _

_"Ichigo, I'm hungry." Rukia told him. _

_"W-what?! Why are you telling me?" He stuttered, peeved. _

_"You're going to make the food, so cook quickly!" Rukia demanded, looking at Ichigo like he was an idiot- which was partly true._

_"Lazy bitch, having someone always get you food…" Ichigo muttered, but he was already walking over to start cooking. Rukia was about to follow him when she noticed Kaien-dono again. _

_The letter. _

_She turned on her heel as she ran back to where her bag was. Her bag that held the letter. She carefully took it out and stared at the white, crisp envelope. She spent a whole night perfecting the letter for him, and now she had it ready to give to him- for him to read._

_She placed safely into her pocked where it would be protected and returned back to where everyone was, and walked over to where she saw Ichigo. _

_"Is dinner ready yet?" She asked as she looked at the vegetables being cooked. _

_"It's almost done. Go get some more oil." Ichigo instructed her. She nodded and walked over to the pile of ingredients and picked up a bottle of oil. _

_"Oi, Kuchiki! What are you doing with that oil?" Rukia turned to see Kaien-dono grinning at her. _

_"K-Kaien-dono! I was just going to get more oil for the food." Rukia explained. She couldn't help her face turn a tinge of pink. _

_"I see. Just don't eat that much, the class is going on a night walk tonight!" Kaien-dono explained. _

_"R-really?" Rukia asked. The moment he said night walk, she knew the perfect opportunity to give the letter._

_"Ah, hope ya' not an early sleeper!" Kaien-dono light voice made her happy- she would be able to finally tell him._

_"Hai!" Rukia nodded and walked back to Ichigo._

_"Did you get lost or something on the way there? The food could've gotten burnt!" Ichigo scowl deepened, but Rukia ignored it- he always scowled, ever since he first came to the school. Even though people commented he became less cold since then, she wasn't one to notice any change in him except he called her more names frequently. _

_"Oi, midget- give the oil already."Ichigo said. 'Oh god, she's spacing out again…' _

_"So demanding for a fruit." Rukia sighed as he handed the oil to him anyway. "…Ichigo, I found out tonight we're going on a night walk." She told him what Kaien-dono had said to her._

_"Eh? A walk during the night? In a place like this too..." Ichigo silently pondered as he stirred the vegetables. "I'd rather go to sleep early." _

_"Whatever. Is the food done yet?" Rukia asked irritated. _

_"Yeah, here." Rukia didn't realize Ichigo had already took out the vegetables and placed it on a plate, which was out in front of her. _

_"Thanks." He took the plate and dug into the food, the warm feeling in her stomach, anticipating tonight._

_But by the end of the night, Rukia's stomach was churning, unable to hold down what happened. _

_Blood could be seen as small spots on the grass, bits of clothing scattered around. _

_Rukia's hands clenched, but she managed not to crumble the envelope that was just about to touch his hand- her knuckles turning white. _

_He was there for the walk; she was there with the letter. She found him away from the students, she was about to confess. He was there, but suddenly a shadow came out and Rukia saw the glint of a knife in the moonlight. He ran to protect her from the shadow, and promised he'll escape the man. She ran with panicked breath to find Ukitake-sensei. The tears were threatening to spill as they ran back to where she last saw him, and followed the direction he ran. _

_They found the scene of where it looked like the shadow had caught up with him, with no other options but to fight. There was no sign of the shadow that attacked, but it was the second thought that the first tear rolled down her cheek._

_Kaien-dono was gone._

_

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**Hope you enjoyed! Please comment!, it makes me really happy to just get one comment, and makes me want to continue writing!  
**_Next chapter- Like her skin, everything was turning white. She knew what to do then- take it off her mind. He finally confessed to himself, but joking of her feelings slapped him right in the face. _


	3. Colors of the Heart

**Hello, everyone! Luckily for me I was able to get this chapter done this weekend! When I write a chapter, I usually write up to 3k words because it's a moderate size for readers and I just seem to write that long.  
Bleach is by Kubo-sama, whoo!**

**Notes:  
**Nii-sama- Honorable big brother  
Nakama- Comrades, friends

**Enjoy!**

**

* * *

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**Colors of the Heart**

Three months.

It had been three months since his death.

Three months of life has gone on without him, without her teacher.

Three months she has been in isolation, staying every day after school cleaning the classroom for everyone. They paid no mind, leaving everything to her.

Today, Ukitake-sensei was doing some work as Rukia dumped the old flowers from his vase, when he suddenly looked up at her with a serious gaze.

"Kuchiki, has something been wrong? You shouldn't be the only one cleaning the classroom." Rukia could see the genuine concern he always had.

"I told Kiyone and Sentarou they didn't have to clean after school since it looked like you needed some peace and quiet after school." Rukia explained. Ukitake was moderately surprised she had such a good excuse, since he had been feeling unwell that day.

"I see Kuchiki, but you've been taking care of the room for the past few weeks- you should go home, Byakuya could get worried if he finds out you come home so late every day." Ukitake told her. Rukia looked down at the mention of Nii-sama.

"…Hai, Ukitake-sensei."

"Why don't you use this time to see the nurse, you've also been looking pale." Ukitake instructed her.

"Hai." Rukia set the vase down and walked over to her desk that still held her books and bag.

"Have a good day, Kuchiki." Ukitake called out as she walked out of the classroom.

Rukia headed up the hallway and downstairs to the main floor of Karakura Gakuen where the nurse's office was.

She stepped into the main nurse's room and looked around for the nurse.

"Ah, Rukia-san! It's so good to see you!" Rukia turned to see Yamada Hanatarou carrying a stack of papers.

"Oh, Hanatarou! What are you doing here?" She watched as he went along filing the papers.

"I stay after school for a while to help out at the nurse's office. It also helps to avoid some of the other students that go to me to take out some of their anger…" Rukia gave him a small smile. It was true many of the more tough guys would go after Hanatarou, who looked so weak he would collapse any moment.

"I see. Is Nurse Unohana here right now?" Rukia asked.

"Ah, did you want her? I'm sorry Rukia-san, I'll go get her right away!" Hanatarou hastily placed the papers down and rushed into the other room.

Rukia waited silently as she looked around the white room. She had only been down here a couple of times when she didn't feel that well during class.

"Rukia-san, if you wanted to see Unohana-sensei, she's in her office right now." Hanatarou returned from the room. "By the way, Rukia-san…" He mumbled, unsure if he should ask.

"What is it, Hanatarou?" Rukia asked.

"Why are _you _here so late after school? Do you also work for one of the teachers, like Ukitake-sensei?" Hanatarou asked. He noticed her uncomfortable look, and instantly took back what he asked. "G-gomennasai Rukia-san! I didn't need to ask a personal question."

"No, it's alright, Hanatarou. I was just cleaning the classroom." Rukia assured.

"Thank you, Rukia-san. You should go see Unohana-sensei now, she must be waiting since I told her you were here." He gave his soft smile, and went back to his filing.

"Thanks, Hanatarou." Rukia turned to the door and walked in slowly, hesitant to see the nurse. She looked forward at the small room with a vacant bed used when students didn't feel well. Sometimes boys who got into fights would be here. Rukia could remember of one instant when Ichigo was down here after a friendly fight against Madarame Ikkaku once.

* * *

"We weren't finish with our fight, dammit! I could have easily beaten him again, Rukia!" Ichigo griped. Rukia only give out an exasperated sigh as she guided Ichigo to the nurse's office.

"Shut up idiot. I can punch right now and you'll go out cold. Just admit to a draw and try another day outside of school." Rukia stressed the end.

"And if I landed another hit on you, you would've gotten a concussion! You're lucky Kuchiki is taking you to the nurse's, or you would have to deal with Kenpachi-sensei outside!" Ichigo scowled hearing Ikkaku's voice right behind him as Ayasegawa Yumichika helped him walk.

"Shut up! You couldn't have landed a decent hit on me if you tried; you have to be carried to the nurse's office." He called out behind him.

"May I remind you Ichigo-san, you're being carried to the nurse's office by a girl?" Yumichika piped up. This whole thing was giving him a headache, not being beautiful at all.

"S-shut up…" Ichigo growled, embarrassed. Rukia smiled triumphantly now that Ichigo had finally shut up himself and was able to go into the office calmly.

Inside as the two plopped down onto two beds; Hanatarou scampered in, and yelped seeing the two beaten up.

"Ichigo-san Madarame-san! I'll go get Unohana-sensei right away, hold on one moment." He scurried back out of the room in search of the nurse while the four waited in silence. After half a minute, the nurse glided in with her surreal smile as she looked at the two on the beds.

"Kurosaki and Madarame, what a nice day to see you two. Was there something you needed?" She asked.

"They were playing around and had gotten some cuts while fighting, Unohana-sensei." Rukia explained. She only smiled as she walked to one of the many drawers and searched for some bandages.

"Thank you, Kuchiki-san. You may go now, since class is starting soon, and I don't want to make four students be late to class." Rukia nodded, glancing at the clock.

"Hai, Unohana-sensei." She turned and walked out of the room while the other three remained.

"Later, Rukia!" Ichigo called out. He knew he probably wouldn't see her for the rest of the day, even after school. It was only rare occasions she wouldn't volunteer to clean the school one day or the teacher will force her out after school.

"May I also leave, Unohana-sensei?" Yumichika asked.

"You may Ayasegawa; Kuchiki-san wasn't allowed to stay because these boys will be getting bandaged." Yumichika nodded as he also left the two to be tended to._

* * *

_

The memory felt almost nostalgic, but Rukia questioned why it felt like that happened so long ago when it was only a couple of months ago.

"Good evening, Kuchiki-san. Was there something you needed?" Rukia turned to see Unohana-sensei's smile as she stood behind her.

"Ah, Unohana-sensei. Ukitake-sensei sent me down to see you." Rukia told her, not knowing what else to say.

"I see- were you cleaning the classroom? No wonder you're here so late. You may sit down on the bed." She nodded to the bed as she went to the private restroom. Rukia sat down as she watched Unohana-sensei appear from the restroom with a damp washcloth.

"You have some dirt on your face." She said as she handed it to the dumbfounded Rukia. She took it anyway and wiped her whole face with it making sure the dirt came off. After she was done, she handed it back to her.

"Thank you, Unohana-sensei." Unohana-sensei nodded as she put the washcloth into the sink and looked back at Rukia.

"You look paler than normal Kuchiki. Is there something bothering you? Is school stressing?" She inquired. Rukia tried to think of an answer as she clenched her fists.

"Y-yeah."

"Ukitake will understand if you can't clean the classroom- you should spend time outside with friends." She explained. Rukia wanted to protest, but recoiled. She knew she should see her friends more now than being shut up in school with Kaien-dono gone, but it only subjected to isolate herself even more.

"…I couldn't with it on my mind…" She mumbled, letting it slip. She jumped; shocked she had said that out loud.

"Is there something on your mind you want to talk about? It'll help if you tell someone than letting it clog your thoughts." She explained. Rukia went into alert as Unohana-sensei waited.

"I-I'd rather not talk about it." Rukia whispered. To her surprise, Unohana-sensei only smiled and turned away as she went to her desk.

"If it's an issue you don't feel comfortable telling someone out loud, then you could write it. If it really is too troublesome for you to keep, take the paper and destroy it." She explained. Rukia's eyes widened, speechless. "Was that all you needed, Kuchiki?" She turned and gave her the same smile, except Rukia swore she saw her eyes shining.

"H-hai, thank you very much, Unohana-sensei!" Rukia jumped off the bed and gave her a grateful bow and exited the room and nurse's office, waving good-bye to Hanatarou on the way.

She did not parry when she took off her school shoes to put on her regular shoes and left the foot lockers and school as she rushed home.

She attracted a couple of stray glances still in school uniform so late in the day, but she ignored them as she focused in getting home.

Reaching the Kuchiki mansion, Rukia left her shoes at the front door and rushed to her small room. She closed the door behind her as she stared at her barren room- her western-style bed, desk, and a closet with her clothing and school uniforms.

On her desk was a large drawer, and Rukia headed straight to it.

She opened it to see a journal that she never used, and picked it up to find the only thing that was on her mind when Unohana mentioned writing her mind on a paper.

The letter to him.

She still had the letter, written only for him. She kept it in the bottom of the drawer, only to look at the white envelope that was never opened once a week.

_'On my mind… in my grasp.' _ She picked it up once more and turned it over. His name was still neatly printed on, so was her name.

Having it in her reach, she could never forget about it- about him.

Tomorrow, she would get rid of the confession, forever.

Tomorrow.

-

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, he would find Rukia, and tell her everything.

He would find that midget before she could disappear at the end of the day to who-knows-where and confess… his feelings.

It had taken him a few months to even realize why he had the sense of over-protectiveness over the girl who could kick his own ass, to realize everyone saw his obviousness and her own obliviousness.

Hell, it took him weeks after Ishida gave him food for thought that one afternoon while leaving school.

* * *

"Kurosaki, would you know where Kuchiki-san is?" Ichigo was a bit startled at the sudden question, especially coming for Ishida.

"Why should I care? She always disappears after school anyway, probably doing stupid stuff." Ichigo scoffed, looking the other way.

"You must get worried about Kuchiki-san sometimes Kurosaki-kun. In fact, I haven't seen Kuchiki-san at all ever since the class trip back in the spring." Inoue's voice sounded unhappy.

"Inoue…"Ichigo muttered. That class trip ended abruptly. He had to wake up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep on the bus. When the class finally were told Shiba Kaien-sensei was missing, and was pronounced dead.

Ichigo suddenly remembered he was Rukia's teacher as he immediately laid his eyes on said girl He could only see her slumped shoulders, head looking at the floor. He knew what death felt like- Rukia didn't have to experience.

"Kurosaki-kun, do you think she's sad?" He could only hear Inoue's question.

"I would be too." He muttered.

"So what are you going to do, confess your feelings?" Ishida asked. Ichigo froze in his spot, and stared at Ishida.

"What the hell are you talking about Ishida?! Are you implying that I- and Rukia… we-!" Ichigo couldn't even finish the sentence, being shocked. Ishida could a vein pulse.

"Why don't you go home, and think about it. Sooner or later, you'll be able to answer your own question." He turned forward and started walking away from him.

"Ah, Ishida-kun! Later, Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue waved behind to him as she went to catch up to Ishida.

Ichigo was left dumbfounded by what Ishida said.

* * *

Damn that Ishida thought he was so high, knowing so early on. Ichigo spent so many nights thinking about it, and trying to deny everything- they were nakama.

But it was now later, and Ichigo couldn't deny it any longer.

But damn it was going to be hard for him.

Rukia and anyone else knew Ichigo was not one to admit important feelings out loud, but Ichigo found he had no other way if Rukia was stupid enough to not notice herself, or she has been denying it herself.

He sighed, feeling exhausted. He knew he'd have to get ready for tomorrow, since he would have to go on a Rukia-search after school tomorrow.

-

"Have you seen Rukia out in the halls?" Ichigo mentally cursed himself for going off to a rough start in finding Rukia. The little kindergartner could scurry away unnoticed at any time, especially in a hall full of students. He looked at Ishida, waiting for him to answer.

"No." He said, shaking his head.

"Damn, she just has to make it hard! I don't even know where to start…" He grumbled, rustling his hair.

"Kurosaki, maybe she stays after class cleaning the class room?" Ishida suggested, trying anything to get Ichigo to leave him alone.

Ichigo scolded for not thinking of it before- he still remembered they introduced each other in her own class, as she was cleaning it. She couldn't have disappeared everyday to clean the classroom…

"Thanks, Ishida!" Ichigo called as he rushed to the end of the hall where Rukia's classroom was. Most of the students were gone by now, relishing on what to do that night with no school the next morning. He walked to the door of her classroom and opened it. Much to his disappointment, she wasn't there.

"Ichigo-san? Is there something you needed?" Ichigo looked over and noticed Ukitake-sensei in the room.

"Oh- no, sorry Ukitake-sensei. It's just, have you seen Rukia?" It didn't hurt to ask him.

"Kuchiki? I told her she didn't have to clean the classroom for the rest of the week, so she left when school ended."

"I see…" Ichigo muttered. So Rukia was able to sneak past him- damn. "Have a good evening, Ukitake-sensei." He waved and closed the door and looked down the hallways. If Rukia left and went straight home, he could go there- her brother Byakuya most likely wouldn't be there to cut off his head anyway.

He walked down the hall and downstairs tired, when a voice called out to him.

"Ichigo-san!" He turned to see Hanatarou waving to him. Hanatarou stayed after school to help their nurse.

"Hey Hanatarou." He waved, when he suddenly thought of what he was doing. "Oi Hanatarou- have you seen Rukia today after school go somewhere?" Hanatarou was a little surprised by his demanding question.

"Y-yeah, I did. She was heading toward the garden down the street." He pointed behind him in the general direction Rukia was heading.

"Thanks a lot, Hanatarou! I'll see you later!" He waved good bye to Hanatarou as he rushed to get his shoes and ran down the street, keeping a diligent eye out for the midget.

He arrived at the gardens and walked in as he searched for Rukia.

It didn't take him that long until he came up to one of the many bridges when he spotted her. She was standing straight with her back on him. He couldn't see her hands; it looked like she was holding something. She remained standing still, as Ichigo walked closer.

She rested her hand that held something flat onto the railing of the bridge. Ichigo cursed when he saw he was still a dozen meters from her. The next thing he knew Rukia was walking off the bridge as he picked up the pace.

"Oi, Rukia!" He called, but she disappeared. "Dammit…" He looked at the water under the bridge when he noticed something white.

'_Rukia must have dropped this.' _Before it fell into the water, he picked it up from the railing. It was a small envelope, looking slightly old. Ichigo made a face, wondering what the hell Rukia had an old envelope for.

"Why did Rukia drop this…?" He looked at one side of the envelope, and read her name out loud. Judging by how her name was written, it was definitely written by Rukia for someone. His mind started coming up with all of the names the envelope could be addressed to, looking like a love letter.

'_Che. Rukia write a love letter? I'd like to believe that. Who would she even write it to, one of the teachers?' _

He turned the envelope. All thoughts froze when he stared the neatly-written name on the next side.

_Shiba Kaien._

_

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**Kyah, the next chapter will be one of my favorite! Hope everyone can feel the clinghanger at the end, because as much as I hate cliffhangers myself, it makes me as excited for the next chapter.****Comment more if you hate the cliffhanger, because it really helps me write.**

_Colors of the Heart- UVERworld_

_Next chapter- He ran to her. Out of a fit of anguish, he decides to prove his feelings to her with exortion. _


	4. Dirty Little Secret

**Hello, everyone! It has been a little while, and I haven't been able to write this chapter for a while! With Winter Break soon, I might be able to write more often! Kubo-sama wrote the ever progressing story of Ichigo and Rukia, along with the other characters and Bleach!  
**

**Notes:  
**Taicho- Captain

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Dirty Little Secret**

The black letters on the envelope stained the white paper, quite conspicuous in the summer scenery. Ichigo stared dumbfounded at the letter, not quite sure what to do with it. He passed his thumb over the sealed flap, like someone opening any other letter, but he stopped himself. He mentally cursed himself for his stupidity of even _thinking _of opening it.

_'No… why do I want to look at this? It's not addressed to me; it's none of my business.'_ Ichigo jammed the letter into his back pocket and couldn't shake off the feeling of awkwardness.

"I… I have to find Rukia and give it back to her. She must have dropped it, that careless midget." His insults didn't make him feel any better about the letter. He quickly walked down the path he saw Rukia disappear. She may have left in a hurry, but he could catch up to her if he hurried up now. He ran quickly over the path passed several couples. They looked back at the blur of orange continued running down toward the exit of the park.

"She couldn't have gone far, probably heading toward her house." Ichigo muttered. He turned to where he knew was the direction of the Kuchiki mansion, where Rukia left towards.

"Damn it, she must have gotten onto a bus." He sighed and stared at his feet, thinking up another plan. The wind chimed past him when he noticed the sound of shoes walking right behind him, but decided not to give notice to his surroundings.

"Ichigo? What are you doing here?" Ichigo jumped at the familiar voice that he had been seeking. He jerked his head behind to see Rukia's surprised face staring back at him.

"R-Rukia!" He could only look at her, his mind suddenly turning blank. There went his plan to play it smooth. He never understood why no matter how hard he tried; the presence of the midget always made him a complete idiot. Something looked different in her eyes- they looked drowsy for being the afternoon.

"Hey you idiot, I'm talking to you. Why are you here?" She walked over to him demanding his answer.

"Ichigo, answer me!" She started getting peeved at him, not reacting at all. She put a hand in front of his face and waved, but Ichigo remained staring at her.

At their close proximity, Ichigo could definitely tell Rukia had red eyes- Yuzu had those eyes after crying about a spoiled dinner. He caught Rukia's hand in his own quickly, making her jump.

"Ichigo…?" She looked even more confused as he they remained in the awkward for a few seconds- his hand holding hers at eye-level when she had to lift her arm to reach his head.

"Ah… sorry." Ichigo released her hand so she could bring it down to her side while his face turned pink.

"Answer me, Ichigo. Why are you here of all places? Did you follow me?" She crossed her arms in suspicion, waiting for him to respond.

"Ah, I did… I had something important to tell you, so I followed you here." He muttered, pushing his hands into his pocket. Rukia's eyes widened slightly.

"Something important? What is it, then?" She implored. Ichigo froze, realizing what the important matter first was.

"Uh- you see, I…" He looked away, not able to make coherent sentences.

"Spit it out, Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed. Sure Ichigo could be an idiot, but Rukia could tell he was being serious for some reason.

"Give me a moment, midget!" Ichigo yelled, blushing. He turned his back on her and stared down.

_'Dammit… it's no use to tell her now. But, her letter…'_ Ichigo glanced behind at Rukia when he noticed her gaze was hovering over the back of his pants, looking at the envelope that was sticking out.

"Rukia… "He turned towards her and could help but wear a somewhat cold face.

"Ichigo…?" Rukia was taken aback by his sudden change in mood.

"I wanted to ask about this." He reached behind him and slowly pulled the envelope from his back pocket. He held it out of reach from her, Shiba Kaien's name facing her.

Rukia's eyes widened in painful surprise as her heart froze cold, seeing Ichigo holding the letter she had dropped to move on.

"T-that's… no…" Her throat tightened seeing it, denying he was holding her large secret.

"Ichigo… Where the hell did you get that?" Her voice cracked as he flipped it over to where the flap was still sealed and her name, with no way of denying anything.

"Rukia…" Ichigo was panicking seeing her reaction. He wouldn't let her break down in public like this, so he put it back in his pocket. He took her arm and started quickly walking away from the park, a Kuchiki in tow.

"Come with me." Rukia complied as she caught up enough with his long strides to not be dragged, her mouth all scrambled.

"Ichigo, tell me now!" Her voice sounded like her heart was breaking.

"When we get to my house, just wait a couple of minutes." Ichigo explained, unable to make direct eye contact with her.

"What is the meaning of this, Ichigo?! Did I do something wrong to make you be like this? Tell me!" Rukia's voice rose with trembling anger, as she looked up at him. He looked down the street to see if the bus was coming, ignoring her.

"You bastard…" Rukia muttered. A bead of sweat rolled over Ichigo's face, afraid he wouldn't be breathing correctly when the bus would finally come. Amazingly, he boarded the bus unscathed, pulling the still indignant Rukia right behind him. They paid for their pass and went to an empty seat. Rukia sat down first, wanting to ignore Ichigo as he sat down right next to her.

They remained silent as the bus drove passed the small shops like Urahara Shouten towards the stop near Ichigo's home.

"I won't forgive you." Ichigo remained silent, hearing Rukia mutter angrily at him.

_'I'll just have to change that.'_ He thought as he continued thinking about the letter. Ichigo looked up to see the destined stop up ahead as he stood up. Rukia hesitated before following him off the bus. He started walking, hearing the echo of Rukia's footsteps right behind him. They soon arrived at the Kurosaki Clinic. Rukia remembered any normal day she and Ichigo came to the Kurosaki Clinic after school for homework.

* * *

"Shut up, you probably were the worst in your whole class for that test." Ichigo said as he opened the front door to his home.

"What are you talking about, I did just fine!" Rukia exclaimed.

"Yeah, 60 out of 100 on a test fine." Ichigo rolled his eyes as he walked into the house.

"HELLOO ICHIGO MY SOOOOOOON!" Ichigo's eyes widened as he barely got out of the way of his father's foot. Kurosaki Isshin went into the wall right next to the door.

"You're lucky you dodged me son, but always be aware even when you have a lovely lady as a distraction with you!" He winked at Ichigo, and then turned back towards Rukia.

"Welcome again, Rukia-chan! You may stay for dinner if you would like, Yuzu would be so happy if I told her you're staying tonight!" He cradled Rukia's hands in his own, smiling.

"Hai, I'd love to stay for Yuzu-chan's amazing food, if you don't mind." Rukia gave an innocent smile she always used with Isshin and the rest of Ichigo's family.

"Not at all, Rukia-chan! Just don't give in to any of my son's peer pressure, and keep the door un-locked up there!" He warned her. Ichigo, flushing, kicked his father to the hardwood floor.

"Bastard, when will you stop saying such stupid crap like that?" Ichigo seethed. He had to go through the ritual of dodging his father's hits and kicks, but it is especially worse when Rukia comes over, and he goes onto ranting about grandchildren.

"Get moving, midget!" Ichigo went toward the stairs with Rukia following, leaving a grinning Isshin at the bottom of the stares.

"Don't be too loud, there are innocent minds right on the other side of the door!"

* * *

But Rukia knew better- this wasn't a normal day. It never was ever since the park.

Ichigo was thinking of that same day, knowing it wouldn't be the usual carefree playing with Rukia.

They both reached the front door of the clinic, as Ichigo walked in first.

"I'm home…" He called out. He slipped out of his school shoes at the door as Rukia followed in suit.

"Onii-chan, welcome back! Ah, hell Rukia-chan!"Yuzu popped out of the kitchen greeting both.

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ichigo stepped to the side when he saw his father's foot once more coming towards him. This time Isshin stopped himself before crashing into the wall, and swiftly turned to look at the two.

"Nice job, son! You didn't let any pretty ladies distract you this time! But if you need advice, women love when you give them attention." Isshin whispered the last part into his ear. Annoyed, Ichigo elbowed him in the face.

"Jeez, stop with your gimmick of having them marry and giving you grandchildren Old Man." Karin walked past the whole scene.

"But maybe the message will finally sink in, like how I taught my son to dodge attacks! The sooner I get my grand children, the sooner I can die happy!" Isshin smiled like he was thinking about it then.

For the first time, Rukia blushed, remaining silent and almost upset over the whole rant.

"So Rukia-chan, will you be staying for dinner tonight?" Yuzu asked her.

"Anou- I'll have to early today, I'm sorry." Rukia apologized, seeing Yuzu's slightly disappointed face.

"Well make use with your time now, and no naughty business, Ichigo! I don't want to be known for a son who can't control his hormones!" Isshin called as the two trudged upstairs.

"Damn old man…" Ichigo muttered, ruffling his hair. Today definitely wasn't the day- he wasn't sure when the next time would be.

He closed his door when Rukia walked in front of him into the middle of his bedroom.

"Ichigo, tell me now!" Rukia couldn't hold it in any longer, not bothering to look at him.

"You dropped it, and I found it on a bridge." Ichigo explained.

"Then why don't you give it back to me?" Ichigo could hear the slight tremble in her voice, and took out the letter from his pocket.

"But you purposely dropped it to get rid of it, right? Do you really want trash back?" He asked. Rukia turned to him, anger in her eyes.

"This isn't stupid matters of 'Finders keepers', Ichigo! You have no right to look inside it or keep it if I request it back."

"Rukia, was this the reason you isolated yourself for months?" Ichigo's voice surprised Rukia. Rukia couldn't speak, hearing what sounded like pain in his voice.

He avoided her eyes, putting his attention on the letter.

"Of all, it had to be a teacher, him…" Rukia didn't hear Ichigo whisper it to himself. He finally looked up to meet Rukia's eyes and stared at her.

"I'll give you the love letter back in three months, make you get over it. I'll remain nakama or not." He told her. She could only stare at him in disbelief before glaring at him.

"What the hell do you mean get over it?! I was over it!" She punched him in his stomach, making him double over.

"B-bitch…" Ichigo grimaced.

"You're such an ass! Why are you even doing this, what makes you think I'll comply?" Rukia challenged him.

"Comply?" The idea instantly popped into Ichigo's mind… With the letter, he could…

"I'll always be there, unless this letter gets into the hands of the people in school for some reason…" Ichigo murmured. Rukia froze, fear creeping into her eyes.

"N-no, why…?" She felt numb all over her body, looking at Ichigo, trying to see if he was kidding.

"Listen, Rukia…" Ichigo reached out for her, but she side stepped him, walking towards the door.

"So, trying to get what you want with blackmail? I really don't want to see your face. I- thought we were nakama." Ichigo could see her whole body tremble as she refused to look at him. She opened his door and quickly ran out. Ichigo followed her but she slammed the front door in his face and was running down the street.

He sighed, his eyes following the small figure before she turned a corner, going out of view.

"My son must have done some incredibly stupid and you let her run away! Didn't Daddy teach you anything about women?!" Isshin landed a hit on his shoulder blade, making Ichigo lean forward in agony.

"D-damn you…" Ichigo muttered threateningly.

"Eh, what's with that pathetic face? Don't tell me you finally tried to get to 1st base and she rejected you? That's just your own stupidity, things like love take time, son."

Ichigo ignored his father as he went back to his bedroom and dropped onto his bed, looking down at the floor.

"Three months… Hopefully…" Ichigo muttered.

_'Three months to tell her…'_ He looked over to the letter he dropped when he chased after Rukia.

He then noticed the lion plush toy Rukia had given him one day at the school festival a couple of months ago.

* * *

"What is up with you, midget?" Ichigo was a little surprised to see such a joyous Rukia hopping from stand to stand. The sun was making out for a change, having nothing but overcast days that fall.

"What are you talking about? I just like school festivals. After we're done looking at this stands outside, let's go to the café for something to eat." She told him as she looked over the table with plush toys of a popular kids' show.

"Che, you expect me to let you have any more sugar?" Ichigo scoffed at her. She glared up at him.

"What do you mean? I haven't had any food since breakfast this morning!" She argued.

"So this-" He pointed at her and stressed the last word, making her pop a vein. "-is just an adrenaline rush with all the colorful banners, toys, and food?" As retaliation, she stepped on his foot hard and bent his index finger up, making it as painful as she could. Ichigo yelled in pain and held his hand, his turn to glare at the smug Rukia. She faced forward and returned to walking down the aisle and browsing through the contents of each stall, acting like her usual cool, collected self.

"I only had us come out here during our break to look for a stand with any Chappy merchandise; one of these just has to have a keychain or toy." She explained, not seeing Ichigo making a face.

_'We're out here hunting for Chappy crap, that's it? I can't believe I didn't realize it before.'_

"But if you want to play some game, we can do that." She turned and gave him a small smile, surprising him.

"Really?" He asked.

"Only if we can get a Chappy toy as a prize!" She continued looking at the stalls as Ichigo mentally slapped himself for falling for it again.

"Dammit-" He muttered at her, but she interrupted him when she spotted something.

"Ichigo, look at this one!" She hurried towards a large stand with Ichigo right behind her. He looked closely and saw a pile of baseballs settled on the counter and bottles stacked up in a pyramid.

"Would you like to try and play?" The young woman asked Rukia. Along with her boy that looked amazingly shorter than even Rukia was leaning on the counter to the side.

"Just one question, how can I get anything that's Chappy?" Rukia asked her. She twirled around to look at the wall of prizes as her orange-blonde hair rustled.

"Hmmm…" After a couple seconds of silence she turned towards the boy.

"Taicho, what are the Chappy toys and how can she win them?" The boy looked annoyed at her, a vein bulging on his head.

"Stop calling me that Matsumoto- and Chappy toys are all the bunnies. For any of them she has to knock all the bottles down in one shot." He explained.

"Oh yeah! What Hitsugaya said, all three bottles in one shot! Care to try?" She winked at Rukia, leaning over the counter.

"Of course." Ichigo stared in shock as Rukia paid Matsumoto and handing over a baseball.

"Rukia, you can't be serious! Like you can get those bottles down with one shot." He was met with a punch to the face.

"Shut up, I can try at least." She scoffed, and turned forward to concentrate on the game. Matsumoto stepped to the side next to Hitsugaya as both watched her stare at the bottles. She threw the ball toward the center where the top bottle stood on the bottom two, hitting the top off.

"Aw, that was a really nice try! Sadly getting one bottle won't get you anything." Matsumoto explained as she picked up the bottle and placed it back on top.

"I'll try again then!" Rukia held out the money, fired up to win a Chappy toy.

"Ehhh?! Just give it up, you're not good enough to get anything from here-" Another fist met Ichigo's face as Rukia received another baseball.

"Quiet, Strawberry!" She stared at the bottles and threw the ball, once again only hitting one bottle down. The process repeated a couple more times until Ichigo saw two bottle fall.

"Congratulations, here's a consolidation prize!" Matsumoto gushed as she handed Rukia a plush toy. She looked at the toy disappointed, since it wasn't Chappy, but a homely-looking lion plush.

"Eh, I don't want this." She turned back towards Ichigo when she noticed the clock. "Ah, I have to get to my class' confections stand!" She looked down at the plush when she had an idea. She turned towards Ichigo and shoved the toy into his arms against his protests.

"Here, have it- I don't need it. See you later, Ichigo." She turned and hurried down the aisle to help at her class' stand for the festival.

"Dammit, giving me this ugly toy… I could give this to Yuzu for her birthday or something." Ichigo muttered. He looked at the stand for a moment and looked at the Chappy toys.

Matsumoto turned to see the boy that was with the short girl at the counter, money in hand.

"Ooh, where did she go?" Matsumoto commented, looking around.

"She had to go to her stand. You said all of the bottles in one shot, right?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, try it." Hitsugaya had walked up and took the money, handing Ichigo a baseball. He smirked, looking at the bottles.

"This will be easy." He threw the ball right in the middle, knocking all the bottles off.

"Amazing! You can choose any prize you want on the wall then, not including me." She winked at him as she showed the wall of large plush toys. Ichigo grimaced, seeing all the Chappy toys so freaking huge- he was NOT going to be walking around the school carrying anything like that. He then noticed towards the bottom of the wall where small key chains, and saw a Chappy charm hanging from one of them.

"I'll take that Chappy keychain." He pointed at it. Matsumoto handed it to him as he put it in his pocket. He turned and walked away from the stand, feeling quite smug.

"He must've gotten it for her, how sweet!" Matsumoto squealed as she watched him weave through the visitors.

"Whatever." Hitsugaya said, rolling his eyes at her.

* * *

Ichigo couldn't help but smirk at the memory as he picked the gift up and turned it in his hand. Of course Rukia kicked him for being too self-centered and not getting her one of the large plush toys, but she thanked him anyway.

It was only last fall… She probably had those feelings for her teacher way before then, but remembering Rukia's face when she thanked him made him grin.

He had to confess to Rukia, and help her get over her deceased teacher, the one she probably was in love in for quite some time. He couldn't help but let his confidence flood into him.

_'I'm pretty sure I can do that in three more months.'_

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! I took into the account of critism how people don't like italicised flashbacks, so I did nothing to the flashbacks except used a break line of the start or end of a flashback, so tell me if you like this much better by reviewing, thank you! **

_Dirty Little Secret- The All American Rejects_

_Preview for next chapter: Another day of school as Rukia glanced at him- he acts like he isn't holding a knife behind her back._


	5. Pray that You Always Understand Me

**A/N: **Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed the holidays and New Year! Here's a new chapter to enjoy before I have to go back to working hard at school! Bleach is by Kubo. Warning: Some OOC with Rukia, because after what had happened, she doesn't want to be around Ichigo and is still angry- but she has to deal with him. Notes at the bottom for translations and other information.

* * *

**Pray that You Always Understand Me**

_"But you purposely dropped it to get rid of it, right? Do you really want trash back?" He asked. She turned to him, anger in her eyes. _

_"This isn't stupid matters of 'Finders keepers', Ichigo! You have no right to look inside it or keep it if I request it back."_

_"Rukia, was this the reason you isolated yourself for months?" His voice surprised her. She couldn't speak, hearing what sounded like pain in his voice. He avoided her eyes, putting his attention on the letter. _

_She didn't hear him whisper it to himself. He finally looked up to meet her eyes and stared at her._

_"I'll give you the love letter back in three months, make you get over it. I'll remain nakama or not." He told her. She could only stare at him in disbelief before glaring at him. _

_"What the hell do you mean get over it?! I was over it!" She punched him in his stomach, making him double over. _

_"B-bitch…" He grimaced._

_"You're such an ass! Why are you even doing this, what makes you think I'll comply?" She challenged him. _

_"Comply?" He paused, and she could see him thinking up something. "I'll always be there, unless this letter gets into the hands of the people in school for some reason…" he murmured._

_Fear stabbed her as the world faded to darkness; the last thing she saw was his face. _

-

Rukia's eyes sprung open as she sat up quickly. It wasn't the Kurosaki residence; she wasn't in Ichigo's room anymore. She could feel her soft blanket under her hand, and her pale walls didn't hurt her eyes. She sighed in relief to see she was in the Kuchiki home, her room. She didn't see the boy anywhere, only her Chappy toys.

She wiped the perspiration from her forehead. Even though the dream wasn't dark with monsters like normal nightmares were, it still had induced her to a sweat. The dream really bothered her- it felt so real, like Ichigo really did have the letter. Rukia couldn't remember what had happened yesterday- she had a terrible feeling in her stomach that what was from her dream wasn't her imagination. She got out of her bed and stretched, yawning in the sunlight. She walked across to where the letter should be-where she hoped it still would be. She looked, and her heart stopped when it wasn't there. She scrambled, checking everywhere for the envelope, but it was nowhere in sight.

Her heart dropped, as she finally remembered everything from yesterday.

The letter…

Ichigo…

3 months…

Blackmail…

Ichigo had the letter. She didn't know why, he only threatened her of leaking it throughout the school. It seemed like a nightmare because it was unbelievable- Ichigo, one of her only friends. He acted so weird; it almost scared her at how out of character he acted.

Rukia stopped thinking about it when she saw the clock and realized she had to get ready for school. She hurried to get dressed and gather the school work she left sprawled out the night before, being preoccupied by what had happened an hour before. Once she was all ready, she opened her bedroom door and walked out into the large hallway, closing it behind her.

She walked down the wooden floor past several paintings relatives had bought for the family. Most paintings were of traditional tea houses of shrines in a serene landscape, wind blowing seen by the swaying wind chimes. Rukia would pass by these at least twice a day, the same never-changing scenery. The memory of the times Ichigo would comment about how stupid the paintings were popped into her mind, but quickly dissipated by her anger. She was furious at him; she said she wouldn't forgive him.

She walked down the stairs, seeing the servants and maids walking around the house busily. Her brother must have something important going on today, she thought.

Kuchiki Byakuya was the CEO of a large company of traditional garb with chain stores across Japan, after taking on the family business. Even though Rukia is under the family name, she and everyone else knew she wasn't an actual Kuchiki. She was adopted into the family by Byakuya, who had married her sister, Hisana.

Rukia lived in an orphanage for most of her childhood up until she turned 13 years old. She had come back from the low public school that the orphans attended to find an expensive-looking car right outside. When she walked into the orphanage, one of the caretakers ran up to her, and dragged her to one of the offices that held orphan files and where people who were interested in adopting to meet an orphan. The first thing she noticed in the room she had been few times before were two large men.

They both wore professional suits that looked rather expensive, also wearing stoic masks with piercing eyes.

* * *

"Rukia-chan, this is Kuchiki Byakuya. He would like to officially adopt you." The caretaker explained to her. Rukia stared up at the young-looking men, figuring he was the one she said was Kuchiki Byakuya.

"Adopt me?" Rukia whispered, surprised. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"They said they've been looking for you. Now, please sign this paper and all of her adoption papers will be finished." The caretaker passed Byakuya a sheet of paper as he carefully read everything quickly, and then placed it on the desk. He took out a fountain pen as he made each stroke on the paper, leaving Rukia staring at the fluid movements. Once he was finished, he handed the paper back to the awe-struck caretaker, standing straight once again.

"Then the adoption process is finished." She handed him a large folder of papers, then turned towards her. "You are now Kuchiki Rukia. Go get your things and come back down quickly to leave." Rukia nodded and shuffled out of the room.

She, Rukia- Kuchiki Rukia- had a family, and was no longer an orphan. She now had a family name.

But why?

-

"What is it, Rukia-san?" The Kuchiki elder gave the girl a warm smile. It had been about a week since she first came to the large home and was shown her new room that as barren of any filth, color, or life. She mostly remained silent as many advised her during long and tedious ceremonies she had to endure. She didn't even know that they Kuchiki family was a powerful family in Japan, living across the country.

"Excuse me for asking, but why was I adopted?" She said. No one told her anything, and the last time she had seen Kuchiki Byakuya, the man with him told her she was to call him brother.

"Byakuya-sama had a wife named Hisana. She was a very beautiful woman that Byakuya met and fell in love, much to the rules of the family being against his decision. She told of a younger sister she had that she was still searching for. We finally found her younger sister- you." He told her of the story.

"M-my sister? I had a sister? Where is she now?" Rukia asked, alarmed.

"I'm sorry, but Hisana-sama had passed away about a year ago from illness." He told her.

"…Ah, I'm sorry for bursting out." Rukia dropped, staring at the floor. That was the reason why she was here- she actually had family, looking for her. She looked up to see Byakuya coming up to her.

"Byakuya-sama." The elder bowed politely.

"Byakuya nii-sama." Rukia called him, bowing as well. Byakuya paused, staring down at Rukia. He turned forward and continues walking, saying nothing.

* * *

Rukia walked to the kitchen to find her breakfast waiting for on the large table.

"Itadakimasu." She said as she sat in front of the dish, then picked up her utensil and began eating. A couple of minutes later she was finished as she wiped the crumbs from around her mouth, and stood up. She left the table and picked up her school bag and walked towards the front door, leaned over to put on her shoes.

It was then there was a knock at the door right in front of her, making her stand up. The servants probably didn't hear the thumping, so Rukia opened it herself.

"Hai?" She said, but then froze in place. The familiar site of orange that she did not want to see stood casually in front of her.

"Yo." He greeted her, holding his hand up. Rukia stood for a moment gaping at him before snapping back, glaring at him.

"Ichigo! What the hell are you doing here?!" She exclaimed, too annoyed to watch her volume.

"What, I just came so we can go to school." Ichigo said. Rukia gawked at his stupidity, remembering she questioned him on their friendship. She was about to yell at him when the cold voice called out behind her.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo could see Byakuya looming behind Rukia, giving him a disdain stare.

"Hey." Ichigo greeted him, acting his usual self.

"Ah, Nii-sama!" Rukia turned in surprise to see him staring back at Ichigo.

"I was just leaving now; please have a good day for work." She bowed to him, turning back to the boy outside.

"Yes." Byakuya said, still glaring at Ichigo. Rukia closed the door behind her, not before giving Ichigo a swift quick in the shin.

"What was that for?!" Ichigo muttered, glaring at her.

"Coming here, dumbass! What the hell made you think I'd welcome you, or Byakuya would greet you?" She matched his glare, but broke their gaze as she turned to start walking. Ichigo quickly followed.

"I didn't realize you'd be beyond pissed to just see me." Ichigo muttered, annoyed himself with her malicious behavior. Rukia could only give him an I-wish-you-were-dead-instead-of-pestering-me-right-now glare, proving his point.

"I have every right to be pissed at someone like you." She retorted at him, looking over her shoulder.

"Right, whatever." Ichigo muttered, knowing what she meant. He switched the subject as the two crossed the street. "Byakuya seemed calm today, better than last time." He commented. Rukia gave him an incredulous look.

"Are you kidding? Nii-sama was probably thrice cursing to see you again." Rukia guessed. Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that was probably true.

Ever since Byakuya first met him one day when he went to Rukia's home to give her school work she missed, they had some sort of rivalry between each other. Rukia knew Byakuya didn't trust Ichigo as a commoner that seemed to want attention with his hair hanging around his sister, but Ichigo persisted.

Ichigo grinned when he remembered how he was able to annoy her brother to no end just by being there, and was able to take on several guards of his. Both were still not on good terms, especially with Ichigo calling him by his first name.

They soon arrived at school, where Rukia quickly disappeared to get away from him. Ichigo didn't mind when he noticed he was going to be late if he didn't hurry up.

After a change of shoes, Ichigo walked up to his class door and opened it up, being greeted by his friends.

"ICHIGOOOO!" Asano Keigo's voice was the first, as Ichigo walked past the boy.

"Mornin'." He said, ignoring Keigo. He walked over to his desk, greeting everyone else.

"You finally came, Kurosaki." Ishida commented, pointing at the clock. Everyone was curious why Ichigo was unusually late.

"Yeah." Ichigo said.

"What did you do, sleep in?" Arisawa Tatsuki asked.

"If I wasn't mistaken, he had walked to school with Kuchiki-san this morning." Kojima Mizuiro popped into the conversation. Ichigo glared at Mizuiro as everyone gave him a strange look.

"K-Kuchiki-san? Ichigo, you walked with her to school?! But you two live in two different directions, then that meant you were at-" Keigo began rambling, connecting two and two together. Ichigo punched him in the jaw.

"Kuchiki-san, really?! It's been so long since I've seen Kuchiki-san with us!" Inoue exclaimed in her bubbly voice, but then paused, looking up at the ceiling in deep thought. "The last time I saw Kuchiki-san was…"

"Since Shiba-sensei's death." Yasutora Chad completed Inoue's sentence. Everyone went quiet, knowing he was right. Ishida watched a slight flicker of emotion wash through Ichigo's face when Chad mentioned Shiba Kaien.

"How is Kuchiki-san anyway, Kurosaki?" Ishida asked him.

"What, she's fine. Same short and same temper." Ichigo said, leaned back in his chair.

"I'm so glad Kuchiki-san is fine!" Inoue smiled. "I wonder if she'd like to join us sometime and I can show her some of my new recipes." She thought of the dozen new dishes she wanted to let Kuchiki-san try, making everyone give her a wary smile.

The bell rang, and everyone looked up to see their teacher walk in.

"Alright, sit down!" Shihouin Yoruichi called out, dropping her bag onto her large desk in the front of the class. Everyone scurried to their seat and sat down as she opened a bottle of milk before continuing.

"Urahara-sensei will be here in the afternoon, alright? Let's get attendance done." She sighed as she placed the bottle down and picked up the attendance, not interested like always.

-

"Alright everyone, don't forget about to do your work tonight, and bring it back tomorrow!" Urahara Kisuke told them as the bell rang. He gave a mischievous smile to the students as they walked out of the room.

"Ah, that's right- Asano-kun and Kojima-kun, you two are staying for doing the class notes." He pointed to the pair. Keigo moaned, not wanting to stay after school any longer.

Ichigo packed up and walked down to the foot lockers, changing into his regular shoes. He closed it and turned around, remembering he had to go look for Rukia.

He scanned the hall to see if she was still in the classroom, and then scanned the foot lockers. He noticed the bobbing of a head of black hair relatively shorter than the rest of the crowd walking outside. He weaved his way through the others until he caught up with Rukia, who turned to see Ichigo.

"Ichigo? What do you want?" She asked him. She had a bad feeling about when she would be able to get to school work tonight. Ichigo was about to answer when they heard Inoue calling for them.

"Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san!" She waved, motioning them to come over to her and the group of Ishida, Tatsuki, and Chad.

The pair went over where Rukia was attacked by Inoue as she circled her arms around Rukia, hugging her very tightly.

"Ah, Kuchiki-san! I'm so happy to see you again! You sure have been busy, have you?" She asked her, still embracing the smaller girl. Said girl was uncomfortable to have had the wind squeezed out of her a moment before.

"H-hello, Inoue-san. Ah, it's been a while- I've had a lot to do." She answered.

"Well since you're not busy anymore, come with us to get ice cream!" She declared cheerfully, finally releasing Rukia from her grip.

"Are you coming, Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked him. He looked over at her and shrugged his shoulders. He had nothing else to do, and had something to tell Rukia- he might as well stay if she was being dragged to ice cream.

"Come on, there's this stand at the park with the best vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce!" She exclaimed, starting to ramble on her first time finding the place. Rukia listened until they arrived to the stand and stood in line.

"One cone of strawberry, please." Rukia said. A moment after she was handed her own cone with the strawberry treat on it.

"Chocolate." Ichigo ordered.

"Here, that'll be 400 yen for the two of you." The man said as he handed Ichigo his cone. Ichigo gave him the exact amount and turned away. Rukia quickly turned and walked after him.

"Hey, you didn't have to pay for mine!" She scolded as they started walking to where the rest of them were.

"The guy asked for the money, I decided to just give it to him, it'd take you too long to find your own money." Ichigo explained, but he had a fairly good idea why the man did that.

_They looked like a couple._

"I don't need you to pay for my food though. Here, let me repay you." Rukia dug into her schoolbag for some spare change, but Ichigo ignored her.

"Just enjoy the free ice cream, midget." He sighed.

"Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san! Do you like the ice cream? Didn't I tell you it was good?" Inoue asked them. Rukia nodded, taking a small bite from her cone.

"Oi… Check out those big thugs walking across the street there." Tatsuki whispered quietly. Everyone turned their attention to see three men walking into an ally. They wore business-like clothes that were rather worn out, and had scars visible on them. Rukia swore she saw what looked like a tattoo under the head man's sleeve.

"Looks like Yakuza men." Ichigo muttered. He knew the Yakuza were evil gangs, and was even accused of being in one.

"What are they doing here?" Ishida asked, not afraid of the men that have most likely shot more than one person.

"Who knows, maybe they have business and decided to hold it in a nice neighborhood." Tatsuki suggested. It left a slight uncomfortable silence until Chad turned to Ichigo.

"We should probably leave." He said. Ichigo finished his cone and agreed.

"Seeing those men isn't a good thing. We should get away before we get in any sort of cross fire." Ishida suggested as he stood up and threw away the remaining of the ice cream cone. Inoue nodded as she stood up in suit and followed Ishida.

With no choice but to follow, Rukia sat u and started walking when she noticed another trio of men walked down the sidewalk across the street from the opposite direction. They had the same signs of being part of the Yakuza, but looked different from the men before. Rukia took a second take, looking carefully at the lead man.

"Oi Rukia, come on." Ichigo said. Rukia snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at Ichigo.

"Ah, right." She said and caught up to the group. They walked in silence for a few blocks until Chad and Tatsuki stopped.

"Well, I have to get to the dojo. Later." She said, waving.

"Bye, Tatsuki-chan!" Inoue called happily after her.

"I have… errands to run." Chad said as he crossed the street the other way.

"Later then, Chad." Ichigo told him.

"Since everyone is parting, I must get home and finish my homework. Bye Inoue, Ishida." Rukia gave the two a cheerful smile she used to act.

"Eh, you too, Kuchiki-san?! Well, see you tomorrow at school!" Inoue waved good bye to her as she went to cross the road towards the direction Chad left.

"Oi, wait Rukia!" Ichigo said as he followed, forgetting about saying good bye to the pair.

"There went Kurosaki…" Ishida muttered, smirking.

"Hm?" Inoue looked at Ishida questioningly. "What do you mean, Ishida-kun?"

-

"Ichigo, what are you doing?" Rukia asked exasperated.

"We're going to my house." He said.

"What, I'm going home! The hell I'll go to your house." She scoffed.

"You still have some of your stupid horror Manga at my place that you need to pick up, by the way." He muttered.

"Damn it…" Rukia mumbled.

"We're already here." Ichigo said. Rukia looked up to see the Kurosaki Clinic once again. They went through another encounter of Kurosaki Isshin but soon made it up to Ichigo's room.

"Give me my books, now." Rukia demanded, standing rooted to the middle of his floor.

"Fine let me find it. It was all over my room I had to put it in my closet." Ichigo sighed as he walked to the shelf. Rukia watched over his shoulder the best she could as he rummaged through the closet.

"Here's one." Ichigo tossed a black metallic book behind him, Rukia catching it.

"I've been looking for this one!" She exclaimed, leafing the pages.

"Here's two more." He handed the thick books to her. Rukia nodded as she looked at the titles when she noticed something in Ichigo's closet.

"Ichigo, what's that frilly-looking thing in your closet?" She walked forward to get a better look, taking it out of his closet.

"Wait, Rukia-" Ichigo protested, but she ignored him, only to gape at it.

"It's a… dress." Her monotone voice said out loud. It was small but puffy, with lace and drills all over. She stared over at Ichigo.

"Is there any more disturbing secrets you'd like to tell me?" Ichigo grabbed the dress from out of her hands, turning pink.

"It's from the Old Man! He kept giving me these weird dresses or costumes for you to try on. Of course I just hid them in my closet." He explained. Rukia looked into the closet and could see similar shapes inside.

"He wanted me to wear THAT?" She pointed to the dress in Ichigo's hands in disbelief. "Why are you wasting space for them?"

"What, do you want to try one on?" Ichigo smirked, holding out the dress to her. "Of course you'd look like more of a little kid in them that has problems." Rukia answered him with a furious glare and a rough kick to both shins.

-

"Ishida-kun, what do you think is wrong with Kuchiki-san?" Inoue turned to Ishida after said girl left and a certain boy followed after her.

"I'm not quite sure, but Kurosaki seems to be putting a lot of effort to being by her. It looks like she is very angry with him." Ishida commented. They walked down the street together past the small shops.

"I don't get it- they never were angry at each other. Is Kuchiki-san still hurting about Shiba-sensei? He must have been a special teacher to her." Inoue mumbled worriedly. Ishida gave Inoue a side glance, seeing her upset.

"I'm sure it's nothing terrible, Inoue-san. Don't worry about it; we'll just have to see what happens." Ishida assured her.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed! This chapter was a little bit longer than usual, but not by much. Reviews are MUCH appreciated, thank you!

_Pray that You Always Understand Me- Brennan Alleyne_

**Notes:  
**-sama- Honorable suffix  
Nii-sama- Honorable brother  
Itadekimasu- "Time to eat."  
400 yen- Roughly $4 or around that much  
Yakuza- The Japanese mafia, known to have very colorful tatoos that can cover a man's whole body- tatoos are not very liked in Japan as it is consider almost criminal to get one.


End file.
